Theatre Arts

The Theatre Arts Programs at MMC offer professional theatre education and training combined with a liberal arts education. It is our philosophy that the more well-rounded the education of theatre students, the better prepared they are to create and produce compelling and imaginative theatre. Individualized attention and a strong faculty advisement program enable qualified students to take on substantial projects and roles. Independent study projects provide opportunities for specialized training and performance experience. Junior and senior level students may also study abroad for credit at schools such as the British American Drama Academy in London and Accademia dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy. Internships in a variety of settings (Broadway, Off- and Off-Off-Broadway, television, film, and dance) allow students to develop experience and a potential network in the NYC performing arts community. We believe in training individual creative artists and encourage our students to explore all that the College and NYC have to offer. Co-curricular minors in Drama Therapy, Arts for Communities, Music, and Arts Management can complement the BFA majors in Acting, Musical Theatre, and Design and Technical Production, and the BA major in Theatre Arts.

Performance opportunities include mainstage and studio productions such as The Balcony, Love and Information, Bring It On, 10 out of 12, Blues for Mister Charlie, Electra, On Strivers Row, Machinal, The Laramie Project, Starlight Express, An Enemy of the People, and Oh What a Lovely War. The MMC Directing Projects are performed in the Bordeau Box Theatre each semester. These short, contemporary plays are directed by students in the Directing III class, designed and stage managed by students, and cast with student actors. MMC Playwriting Projects provide student playwrights with an opportunity to hear and see their works-in-progress. Through our Professional Preparation courses in acting and musical theatre, students present audition material in Senior Showcases for select panels of agents and casting directors through which they receive individual personal guidance and advice for starting their professional careers.

MMC Theatre Arts programs are unique in offering specialized opportunities to the qualified student. Theatre faculty teach students through flexible programs in which intensive production experience can be gained. MMC Theatre Arts graduates leave with viable, competitive portfolios. They have made successful careers in theatre, film, and television, and have been accepted into highly competitive graduate programs.

The Theatre Arts Department is committed to creating a culture and curriculum that are ethical and equitable. The Department faculty and staff pledge to develop and implement recruitment strategies, curriculum, pedagogy, and theatre production practices that are anti-racist, anti-sexist, gender, body, ability and LGBTQIA+ inclusive. Systemic discrimination and oppression exist in society, including in the professional theatre; therefore, academic institutions like ours must work diligently to dismantle and reform those systems. The Theatre Arts faculty and staff will engage and collaborate with students in teaching, service, and scholarship that challenges racism, sexism, and all forms of bias and oppression, while also empowering all of us to eradicate these structures. We endeavor to hold our faculty, staff and students accountable to this ongoing work on equity now and into the future.

Admission to the Programs: The BFA Acting and BFA Musical Theatre programs require an audition as part of the application process. The BFA in Design and Technology and the Theatre Arts Program (BA) concentrations in Directing, Writing for the Stage, and Producing & Management require an interview as part of the application process. The Theatre Arts Program (BA) concentrations in Theatre & New Media, and Theatre History and Performance Texts, require a special application as part of the application process. Consult the Theatre Arts department website for more information.

Special Notes: Students may not audit performance and production courses, or start full-year courses in the Spring Semester, without departmental approval. Additional studio fees may be charged for certain performance and production classes to offset costs of maintaining facilities and equipment. For additional information about policies and programs, students should consult the current MMC Theatre Arts Student Handbook, available in the Theatre Office and online on the MMC web site.

Academic Division:	Visual and Performing Arts
Division Office:	Nugent Hall, Theatre Office
Office Phone:	212-774-0760
Division Chair:	Mary Fleisher
Academic Department:	Theatre Arts
Department Chair:	Jill Stevenson
Administrative Coordinator:	Barbara Tiernan